Digital Craftsmanship

Ornamental Structure for the Novice Boatbuilder

Mary Jo Minerich ARCH 794, Professor Ming Tang August 27, 2011

Hull Loft by Greg Rossel, from The Boatbuilders Apprentice.

Manual Craftsman Hull Geometry is created through a process called lofting, which breaks down surfaces and curves into a series of cross-sections.

Digital Craftsman Hull Geometry is created through the mathematical generation of cross-sections whose relationships dene the crafts surfaces and curves. Script can be adapted to include performance evaluations and criteria.

Dening Geometry

Flexible Small Boat Design Script by Mary Jo Minerich August 2011

A B

Cross-Section

Flexible Contour Cross-sections can scaled to varying degrees in the horizontal and vertical dimensions and be moved to varying distances from a center point, in order to dene the curvature of the boat along its length.

D E

Contour

G F F

F G G

Bow and Stern Bow and Stern cross-sections are scaled and rotated 90 degrees to the center cross-section.

Cap

Digital Craftsmanship Geometry of boat is joined into a single polysurface that can be broken down in many different ways for digital fabircation and ease of assembly. This fabrication examines the economic and ornamntal potential of a slotted wafetype structure created from plywood. Manual Craftsmanship Fabrication requires high quality wood to be steam bent into individual ribs around separately constructed formwork. Deviations can threaten the structural integrity of the boat.

Wafe Structure Denition Structure broken into self-reinforcing slotted cross sections along horizontal and vertical axis. Unfortunately, wafe denition found has limited adaptability.

Wafe Structure Denition Structure re-oriented to 45 degrees to improve ornamental character of structure.

Re-Structure

Material Economy All required pieces for 3=1-0 model were able to be cut from a single sheet of 40 x 30 chip board.

Cut

Manual Craftsmanship The inexibility of the Wafe script required an additional piece to include the bow and stern cruves. This was easily pulled from the original orientation of the structrure produced.

Fit

Ornamental Structure The diagonal structure of the plywood creates intricate patterns that will be visible through the boats skin.

Supplemental Structure Some additional pieces were added to compensate for material issues due to scale and fabrication, and the inexibility of the wafe-script.

Manual Craftsmanship At full scale dacron impregnated with epoxy provides a watertight and durable skin. For the model, I used heat shrinking window wrap.

Wrap